The latest on California politics and government

November 8, 2011

The University of California will not raise tuition this school year even if state budget triggers are pulled next month and the system loses another $100 million, UC President Mark Yudof said today.

His announcement puts UC in line with CSU and the community colleges, which earlier had waved off potential mid-year tuition increases if state budget triggers are activated.

The state budget adopted in June cut UC by $650 million this year. UC responded over the summer by raising tuition for the fall by about 18 percent over last year.

Brown administration officials will decide next month whether cash receipts through the first part of the fiscal year and revenue forecasts for the first half of 2012 warrant further cuts, including $100 million to each higher education system.

Yudof also said today that UC will ask the state for $2.8 billion in 2012-13, an 18 percent increase from the $2.37 billion it received this year.

But UC officials acknowledged that their request is more of a wish-list than a figure they will actually plan on, saying it's been more than 10 years since the state appropriated as much as UC requested in its annual ask.

State funding and tuition increases are closely linked -- as the state has cut funding in recent years, university officials have hiked tuition. Yudof made no promises about future tuition hikes if the state fails to meet UC's budget request in 2012-13.

In a conversation with reporters, Yudof said he is still hoping the state will commit to a long-term plan for how much money UC can expect to receive in future years.

"We're having what I consider to be productive conversations with the Brown administration," Yudof said.